Bush's Political Calendar Empty as McCain, Republican Lawmakers Avoid Him

[Purveyor]

Sept. 17 (Bloomberg) -- There is an invisible man in the 2008 election: the president of the United States.

Republican candidates have all but shunned him, save those who need him to help raise money. And to the extent any president can keep a low profile, George W. Bush is doing it.

Saddled with one of the lowest approval ratings in polling history, the president is still in demand to shake the party money tree, though almost all of that is done out of the public eye.

``Sadly, a highly visible presence by the president will hurt the party and hurt John McCain,'' Bush's former spokesman Ari Fleischer said.

Republican candidates in close races compete for prominent politicians. Former Arkansas Governor Mike Huckabee stumped with North Carolina Senator Elizabeth Dole, and former Speaker Newt Gingrich campaigned with Ohio Representative Steve Chabot. Former Massachusetts Governor Mitt Romney is booked for events every week through Election Day, while Bush's public political calendar has mostly been empty.

``The country is looking for change, and he's not the most popular president in recent times,'' said David Carney, political director for Bush's father, President George H. W. Bush.

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BLOOMBERG: http://www.bloomberg.com/apps/news?pid=20601103&sid=amLe498jVevw&refer=us

[predfan]

1. If there's a bright side to the economic chaos, it is that it's this close to election day.

Bush had planned on just sliding on into the sunset, and now has to own his legacy of bank failures, the war, lines at the gas pumps, etc.